In transition

Youths are leading the shift toward tolerance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual community. Xu Jingxi in Guangzhou and Cheng Anqi in Beijing report.

Xu Hui's parents locked him in a mill, hired an exorcist and psychologists, and forced him to undergo acupuncture that accidentally pierced his lung, in order to "cure" his feminine behavior. The boy enjoyed playing with his sister's Barbie dolls and wore bras stuffed with tissue. "I increasingly felt like a girl but didn't think too much about it," says the 22-year-old, who now considers herself a woman.

"My mom thought I was a freak and made me do farm work to build my muscles."